Eric Lowser, 22, sentenced to 20 years for kidnapping, sexually abusing children

BALLSTON SPA -- Eric W. Loeser, 22, of Clifton Park was sentenced Monday to 20-1/2 years in prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing three children, one of whom spoke before the court at the sentencing.

The boy, who was 13 at the time of the 2010 attack, sat at the witness stand to read his victim impact statement. His brown hair fell over his eyes as he spoke steadily.

"Eric is a wretched piece of evil," he said. "I met him at a candlelight vigil for a late friend. Eric wasn't there to honor my friend, but to look for young children. With his manipulation, Eric convinced me to trust him."

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Since being sexually assaulted, the boy said he can't trust anyone. He struggles with constant anxiety.

"Although this dark time in my life has now passed, I want to be sure Eric Loeser never sees the sun again," the boy said. "I want to be sure he never sees another child again. Twenty years in prison is not enough."

Assistant District Attorney Michele Schettino read statements from the other two victims. The first, written by a victim who was 9 years old at the time of the assault, began with words from the child's mother.

"Eric, you have brainwashed our family," she wrote. "You filed false allegations of child abuse against me, so that I was arrested. It took us months of counseling to recover. After six months, we discovered you had sexually abused our son."

Fear of Loeser returning to hurt the family still keeps the child from sleeping, she said, adding that Loeser should get life in prison.

"Your betrayal was the biggest hurt," wrote the child. "You made me believe you loved me and were the best person to look after me. But you were a monster."

The third victim, who was 15 at the time of his kidnapping and assault, wrote powerfully of who he was, despite being kidnapped and repeatedly raped.

"I am not a victim," he wrote. "I am a high school student, a drummer, and a member of the track team. I am healthy and strong. But what Eric did to me was so wrong. I can't trust people now."

Loeser's serial sex crimes began in Clifton Park in February 2009, when he befriended the family of the 9-year-old boy. Loeser began acting as the child's "big brother." According to the prosecutor, the criminal encouraged the child to claim that his parents were abusing him and said he would adopt him. Over the course of several months, he sexually assaulted the boy who believed Loeser would look after him.

Later through August 2010, Loeser befriended the 13-year-old victim by claiming he was an emergency medical technician who had tried to help the teenager's late friend during a medical emergency. After befriending the boy, Loeser again encouraged the child to become "emancipated" from his family and come live with him. Loeser then sexually assaulted him.

Finally, in July 2011, Loeser kidnapped the 15-year-old boy from near the Parsons Child and Family Center in Albany. Keeping the teenager hidden from law enforcement and other authorities, Loeser took the boy to Saratoga County, Pennsylvania, Vermont and as far west as Buffalo, where he left him at an apartment complex near the Canadian border.

While hiding the boy from authorities over the course of 20 days, he sexually assaulted the teenager multiple times.

Timothy Kaye, of Round Lake, was sentenced in October to eight years in prison for his role in the kidnapping and sexual assault of the 15-year-old victim.

"This conviction was possible only because of the incredible strength and courage the child victims had to come forward and report the defendant's abuse to authorities," Schettino said.

Because of Loeser's tendency to prey on vulnerable children at vulnerable times in their lives, she requested Loeser's post-release supervision be 20 years, the maximum term. She also noted his presentation of himself as a volunteer, a do-gooder, an EMT, to gain children's trust.

"We need to protect not only these three children from him, but other children well into the future," she said. "He has shown neither responsibility nor remorse for his actions."

Judge Jerry Scarano, who presided over the sentencing, agreed with the assistant DA and sentenced Loeser to 20-1/2 years in prison and 20 years of post-release supervision, with a risk-assessment hearing before release.

The serial sex offender was led away in handcuffs, and the boy who'd spoken out against his attacker stepped into the free air, with his family gathered around him.